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Texas opponents to HSR has decided to take the consstruction issue to the Supreme court. Have to wonder if the private money mentioned in this article has airline influnce behind it ?
https://www.rtands.com/railroad-news/same-crowd-that-stopped-trans-texas-corridor-is-ready-to-do-the-same-with-proposed-bullet-train/
I find I still get a little riled thinking about the business with Pennzoil, a Texas company, and Texaco, a Pennsylvania company, going to court and playing financial chicken ... all these many years later.
Few things in this world grind my gears as badly as links to stories that contain utterly no actually usable information about something claimed in an OP. The linked article does not even mention the name of the group involved, or which 'Supreme Court' they might be planning on bringing the carefully unspecified action(s) in. Nor does it cover any details on the Trans-Texas Corridor or what the organized resistance to it might have in common (other than more-or-less sheer NIMBYism) with the TCI project.
Grinding a few additional ounces, there's no counteracting the naysaying by, for instance, noting that TCI showed off their prospective car interiors just a couple of days ago. I see to my amusement, but not real surprise, that the Newswire now bans even a view of the topics they covered if you're a non-subscriber, so I can't confirm or deny that Brian & Co. actually mentioned this, but they certainly should, and then allow access to the story here.
For those actually interested in the facts, here is a synopsis of the story the Houston Chronicle ran on the rally today:
Critics say they are in for long haul against $15B bullet train In the same room where many mobilized against the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor freeway project 15 years ago, critics of a proposed Houston-to-Dallas bullet train promised to shoot that down, too. No matter how long that takes. “Unfortunately, we are five years in and I can see five more years,” said Kyle Workman, president of Texans Against High-Speed Rail. At a Wednesday night town hall organized by the group and attended by local and state officials along with U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, elected leaders promised the crowd a fight starting in Washington, where regulators are expected to release safety requirements for high-speed trains and consider whether the Texas Central project is a federally-recognized railroad. “After we stop them again in Washington, this battle shifts back to Texas,” Brady told the crowd of landowners, mostly from Grimes, Montgomery, Waller, Harris and Madison counties. Texas Central aims to develop a 240-mile sealed rail corridor from south of downtown Dallas to near Loop 610 and U.S. 290. The path travels along a utility corridor through 11 rural counties, where thousands of residents vigorously oppose the train. Critics have called the project, expected to cost $15 billion or more, a boondoggle that will require a taxpayer bailout while using eminent domain to steal land that has been owned by families for decades. “We are not going to let our taxpayers get on the hook for this project,” Brady told the crowd. Texas Central officials have said they may seek federal loans open to any railroad, but will not proceed unless they have the private financing necessary. The company plans to use Japanese Shinkansen trains to operate the service, which also opens the door to investment from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation that funds the export of Japanese technology to other countries.
In the same room where many mobilized against the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor freeway project 15 years ago, critics of a proposed Houston-to-Dallas bullet train promised to shoot that down, too. No matter how long that takes. “Unfortunately, we are five years in and I can see five more years,” said Kyle Workman, president of Texans Against High-Speed Rail. At a Wednesday night town hall organized by the group and attended by local and state officials along with U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, elected leaders promised the crowd a fight starting in Washington, where regulators are expected to release safety requirements for high-speed trains and consider whether the Texas Central project is a federally-recognized railroad.
“After we stop them again in Washington, this battle shifts back to Texas,” Brady told the crowd of landowners, mostly from Grimes, Montgomery, Waller, Harris and Madison counties. Texas Central aims to develop a 240-mile sealed rail corridor from south of downtown Dallas to near Loop 610 and U.S. 290. The path travels along a utility corridor through 11 rural counties, where thousands of residents vigorously oppose the train. Critics have called the project, expected to cost $15 billion or more, a boondoggle that will require a taxpayer bailout while using eminent domain to steal land that has been owned by families for decades. “We are not going to let our taxpayers get on the hook for this project,” Brady told the crowd. Texas Central officials have said they may seek federal loans open to any railroad, but will not proceed unless they have the private financing necessary. The company plans to use Japanese Shinkansen trains to operate the service, which also opens the door to investment from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation that funds the export of Japanese technology to other countries.
What this might have had to do with any Supreme Court action, in any way, is less than clear to me.
Do not expect most 'local' politicians to support HSR in any way, shape or form when it merely passes through (or over) their represented area. Very few voters will want an expensive, relatively noisy, probably property-value-depreciating Chinese wall across their area that brings them little if any positive benefit in return. I saw a very similar argument in Staten Island years ago, and in some local New Jersey representative's attitude toward the part of the Gateway project going under the Palisades. And to be frank, I do sympathize with them in a number of respects.
There's a really big advantage in fast-tracking this as 'expediously' as possible either to the Texas Supreme Court, or via some use of the Federal system to the United States Supreme Court if they'll grant cert. That being that it decides the 'yea' or 'nay' of the currently-expected financing and/or construction arrangements soon, instead of the usual dragged-out proceedings, appeals, repeated frivolous additions of claims, and other methods that the legal profession honed so well against, say, nuclear-power development. Frankly, I'd expect a group like "Texans Against High-Speed Rail" to do just the opposite of actually fast-tracking any 'unappealable' decisions...
MEANWHILE, there is this laughable business about TCI being, or not being, an actual non-Riffinesque "railroad" (largely hinging on the issue of whether TCI can or can't use eminent domain to acquire any held-out land or access on its route). Apparently where you stand is where you sit in the local Texas judiciary ... no real shock, there ... and just as with Texaco v. Pennzoil it may not be 'justice' that prevails under our legal system.
NB: Kyle Workman clearly has some long-standing, vested interests in opposing TX HSR.
http://workforleon.com/
I would not be surprised about the congressman mentioned as well. There is always the example of the scandalous former Speaker of the House Denny Hastert, who quietly purchased a lot of rural land and then attempted to push legislation that would have built a controversial bypass expressway on those properties.
charlie hebdoNB: Kyle Workman clearly has some long-standing, vested interests in opposing TX HSR. http://workforleon.com/
Oh, I am soooooo tempted. That link may take a while to load ... but down at the bottom is a "let kyle know what you think" section, where for the price of a burner e-mail address we might in no uncertain terms let him know why we think his attitude on TCI might be mistaken.
Go to the Texas Central website, and look at the dropdowns under "landowners". One can easily be cynical about PR, but I think TC people have been upstanding in their intent and action. It also means a lot to have underlying Japanese support in this project. It's an area where the US on its own doesn't have the needed long term experience.
Overmod charlie hebdo NB: Kyle Workman clearly has some long-standing, vested interests in opposing TX HSR. http://workforleon.com/ Oh, I am soooooo tempted. That link may take a while to load ... but down at the bottom is a "let kyle know what you think" section, where for the price of a burner e-mail address we might in no uncertain terms let him know why we think his attitude on TCI might be mistaken.
charlie hebdo NB: Kyle Workman clearly has some long-standing, vested interests in opposing TX HSR. http://workforleon.com/
Go for it, I think he deserves some pointed feedback. Make sure you write down to his level, BTW. Is there any way to accomplish the burner phone trick through a VPN and a phony e-mail account?
charlie hebdoIs there any way to accomplish the burner phone trick through a VPN and a phony e-mail account?
Two mike clicks.
Or as Bugs might say: "Eaaaahhhhh, could be..." <chomps carrot>
The reason for the burner is not because of any perception of vengeful lulzsec on the part of the 4-H-centric voting demographic, but to avoid the almost-certain reason this 'question asking' panel is present: to harvest names and e-mail addresses for further campaign appeals or propaganda. (Which, come to think of it, would in fact constitute a kind of vengeful doxxing karma to the likes of us... )
Exactly!!
Was that the hacking group headed by Sabu?
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